Electric shaver and casing therefor in which the housing of the shaver serves as part of the casing



June 17, 1958 l. .JEPsoN ELECTRIC sHAvER AND cAsING THEREFOR IN wHcH THEHOUSING oF TAE sHAvER sERvEs As PART oF THE oAsxNG Filed April 29, 1955Wwf/w3 477045955 'HMMMTM.,

United States Patent 2,838,835 ELECTRIC SHAVER AND CASING THEREF OR INWHICH THE HOUSING OF THE SHAVER SERVES AS PART F THE CASING Ivar Jepson,(lak Park, Ill., assignor to Sunbeam Corporation, Chicago, Ill., acorporation of Illinois Application April 29, 1955, Serial No. 504,986

9 Claims. (Cl. 30-34) heretofore. These have generally consisted of acomplete enclosure for receiving the entire electric shaver and unit andits associated electric power cord. Moreover, these cases could beclassified into two general types, the pliablebag type and the rigid boxtype. The pliable bag type case usually includes a flexible or pliablebag or container often incorporatingl a snap or zipper type fastener formaintaining the case in'a closed condition. The rigid box type carryingcase, as the name implies, generally comprises a rigid-box ofplastic orother rigidrmaterial with an associated cover often hinged thereto, andsometimes includingasuitable latch for'rholding the cover in closedposition. f i

Electric shaver'cases of the above-mentioned types have been 4availablefor just about as long as electric shavers have been sold, and althoughthey haverproven to be more or less satisfactory over this long periodof time, each of the two types mentioned above has certain inherentdisadvantages. The rigid box type of case, although affording adequateprotection to the shaver contained therein, is generally quite bulky.The pliablebagftype of case, which is ordinarily made of natural orsimulated leather, is probably the easiest to use, since the electriccord and shaver are merelyinserted into it and it is then closed. It is,however, susceptible to scratching, cutting, etc., and of moreimportance is theffact that it does not provide as high a degree ofprotection to the shaver, and specically the cutting head, as do therigid box type carrying cases. It will be understood that the mostimportant and perhaps the most easilydamaged part of electric- Shaverscomprises the comb and associated cutting head, since it must be exposedin use and-usually is protected only by a comb guard or the like. Therest of the shaver is usuallyY enclosed-in a rigid and sturdy housing,so it doesnotneed protection to the same extent as the cuttingmechanism. Although, as mentioned above, the rigid type case adequatelyprotects the cutting mechanism while at the same time not bein-g verysusceptible' to scratching and cutting, it `is considerably more bulkythan the pliable bag type, and, therefore, in` order to keep the size ofthis typeof case fairly small so that it can be conveniently stored, thespace which is provided therein for the accommodation of the shaver andits cord has accordingly been minimized.- As-a result, when using therigid'type case, the shaver itself-must beproperly positioned in acertain location in the case, and the electric cord must be wound into acompact unit and placed in its particular portion of the case. If eachunit is not so placed, the cover can- -not be closed. Those who useelectric shavers know that unless the shaver and cord can be easily andsimply placed into `a protective case, the user will not do so, with theresult`that1'the cutting head of the shaver is left exposed ICC exceptperhaps for a removable comb guard and is thus.

susceptible to damage during periods of nonuse.-

Since lall electric shavers are provided with a sturdy housing portionfor housing the drive motor and othermechanism, it-would be desirabletoeffectively provide a protective casing which employs as a part thereofthe shaver housing alreadyV provided, and further includes' acooperating cover portion-which not only would protect the cutting head`ofthe shaver during periods of ,nonuswep but would provide storagespace therein .for the powerv cord and the like. Specifically, it wouldbe desirable to eliminate the bulkiness of the conventional rigidboxptype case` while retaining `the desirable. protectiveV .featuresthereof whereby the electric cord and the delicate por-5` tions of theshaver itself maybe readily enclosedfor properprotecton. It would,moreover, bev desirable A.to

provide a case which, while being handsome in appearancey and sturdy inconstructiomcould be used to quickly and facilely enclose vthe electricshaver sovas to provideY the necessary protection thereof. It is alsodesirable to pro-` vide a fastening mechanism for completing the packageto,` insure thatthe shaver and the electric cord which are con? tainedwithin the case cannot fall out orbe damaged when the case is jostledaround, as, for example, when it is in a suitcase during traveling.Additionally, it is desirable that this fastening mechanism be manuallyoperated a minimum of time and effort, preferably withthe saline^ motionby which Vthe'case is opened so' as to encourage the use of the case,and it is also desirable, to insurethat this fastening is of such aconstruction that it will not be-A come struck or jammed, or otherwisedefective, even after long periods of use. It is,'moreover, desirablethat the electricV shaver `case construction be relatively inexpensiveto manufacture so `as not to apprecia'bly increase the over-l allmanufacturing cost of an electric shaver with which it is sold.

Accordingly, it is an object of 'the present invention to provide a newand improved combined electric shaver and case.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improvedelectric shaver case wherein 'the disadvantages of prior artconstructions enumerated above are completely eliminated.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improvedelectric shaver case which employs an im? proved latch arrangement whichmay be easily released for removing the electric shaver and cord fromthe case.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved electric shaver case which is compact in design, handsome inappearance, sturdy in construction; convenient to use, and reliable inperformance.

Further objects and advantages of the present 'inven-l tion will becomeapparent as the following description proceeds, and the features ofnovelty which characterize the invention will be pointed out withparticularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of thisspecification.

Briefly, `the above objects are realized in accordance with the presentinvention by the provision of an elec-- tric shaver case consistingsimply of a rigid, cuplike cover portion, the lid of which is adaptedtomate with" and engage a shoulder on the electric shaver housingitself, this shoulder being in the vicinity of and surround-4 Thecutting head thus extends into a cavity in the cover, and a portion, ofthe electric shaver housing itself serves as part of ther protectivecase for the shaver.v In addition, the cavity( ing the cutting headofthe shaver.

Patented June -17,

' covered by a removable comb guard.

y 3 nolded portions in the shaver housing so as to simply and securelyattach the cover to the shaver.

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may behad to th accompanying drawing in which: h Y

Fig. 1 is an elevational View, partly in section, of a ycombinedelectric shaver and case embodying the present invention, andillustrating the manner in which the case is used to protect an electricshaver and also house therein a power cord and the like;

Fig. 2 is a sideY elevational view of Fig. l, looking at Fig. 1 from theleft and assuming the entire structure is shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary partial sectional view taken along line 3-3 inFig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary partial section taken along line 4-4 in Fig. 2,but showing the associated latch in the position it assumes when a latchreleasing force is applied in the direction of the arrow;

, Fig. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a portion of a latchmechanism of Figs. 1 to 4; Y

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the cover with theportion shown in Fig. 5 removed; and

Fig. 7 is a partial sectional view taken along line 7 -7 in Fig. 3,assumingY that Fig. 3 shows the complete structure.V n

Referring nowV to the drawing, and particular-ly to Figs. kl to 7, thereis illustrated a combined electric shaver and case, generally designatedby the reference numeral 10, in which the shaver portion proper, andparticularly the operating mechanism thereof, is substantially identicalwith that of the shaver disclosed and claimed in United States LettersPatent 2,688,184, Jepson, assigned to the same assignee as the instantapplication. This shaver is designated by the reference numeral 11 andcomprises a cup-shaped housing portion 12a which encloses a suitablemotor or drive mechanism fully disclosed in the above-identified patent.To complete the housing, there are included housing portions 12b and12C, commonly called end caps; lbetween which extends a suitable comb 13which may or may not be It will be understood that the comb 13 forms apart of the cutting mechanism of the shaver. The end caps 12b and 12Cand the cap-shaped housing portion 12a may be molded `from a suitablemoldable plastic or the like to provide a very pleasing appearance.Beneath the comb 13 and above the housing portion 12a on either side ofthe shaver are comb locks 14 for removably holding the comb 13 inposition and which may be pivoted to a position to permit removal ofhair in the space beneath the comb 13. Except for the specific exteriorconliguration of the housing portion 12a described in detailhereinafter, the shaver 11 may otherwise be identical with thatdisclosed in the above-mentioned patent and no further descriptionthereof is included herein.

In accordance with the present invention, the cupshaped shaver housingportion 12a is also employed as a part of a protective case, and to thisend there is provided a continuous shoulder 15, which surrounds thecutting head or cutting mechanism and, for purposes of discussion, maybe used as the line of demarcation between the shaving head of theshaver and the housing portion 12a thereof. This shoulder 15 effectivelyis the upper edge of the cup-shaped housing portion 12a which projectsoutwardly from the end caps 12b and 12a` and the'comb locks 14.V Thehousing portion 12a of the shaver 11 may also include any suitabledecorative means such as the recess 16, which might also serve as afinger gripping surface to facilitate manipulation of the shaver 11.Those portions of the shaver 11 which are above the shoulder 15 are morefragile and require more protection than do the portions below theshoulder 15 which are amply protected -by the rigid housing portion 12a.Thus, during periods of nonuse, the portion above the shoulder 15 shouldbe given added protection.

For the purpose of providing this added protection and to complete aprotective casing for the shaver 11, there is provided a cuplike cover17 cooperating with the housing portion 12a. As illustrated, the cover17 is provided around its lower edge with a tapered or chamfered portion17a to mate with the shoulder 15 on the shaver housing portion 12a, sothat when the cover 17 is placed in the position shown in Figs. l and 2with respect to the shaver 11, the chamfered portion 17a thereof abutsagainst the shoulder 15 throughout the length thereof. This provides asatisfactory seal whereby dust and other particles are prevented fromentering the casing, which essentially is defined by the shaver housingportion 12a and the cover 17. With this arrangement the outer wall ofthe cover 17 blends smooth- -ly into the housing portion 12a so thatwhen the cover 17 is in position an external appearance of a unitarycasing is provided.

To provide storage space, the cover 17 is large enough to provide asubstantial storage chamber 1S therein which extends a sufficientdistance `beyond the comb 13 and end caps 12b and 12C of the shaver 11,so that a power cord 19 therefor may easily be positioned within thisrecess or cavity 18 and stored therein when the cover 17 is in theposition of Fig. 1 of the drawing. Since Figs. l and 2 are full scaledrawings of a commercial embodiment of the present invention, it will beappreciated that the complete package including the combined shaver andcase is relatively small and compact even with the additional storagespace provided by the cavity 18. Although a smaller space 18 could beprovided and still accommodate an electric cord 19, in order toencourage the use of the cover 1 7 to protect the shaver 11, it has beenfound desirable to make this space suiiiciently large, whereby the cordmay be inserted therein without great care as to the manner in which itis wrapped or folded. The storage space provided is suicient toaccommodate, in addition to the cord 19, a tube of sharpening compoundand also a small brush for periodically cleaning the whiskers out of theshaver. Preferably the power cord 19 may be wrapped around four lingersof one hand and then pushed into the open end of the cover 17 beforeplacing the cover into the position shown in Figs. l and 2 of thedrawing.

Since the cover 17 is relatively rigid, being molded from a plasticmaterial such as, for example, the same material from which the housingportion 12a of the shaver 11 is molded, a sturdy enclosure is providedfor protecting the cutting head of the shaver from possible damage,while, at the same time, providing a over-all unit which is verycompact, especially when compared with conventional prior art typeelectric shaver cases.

In order to secure the cover 17 to the shaver 11 and yet permit readyconnection to and removal thereof from the shaver 11, a pair vof springbiased pivotable latches 20 are provided, one on either side of thecover 17. Since the latches 20 are identical in construction, beingcounterparts of one another, only the latch 20 which is visible in Fig.2 of the drawing is described. It will be understood, however, that twosuch latches are provided, one on each side of the case, both of whichmust be actuated when the cover 17 is removed from or attached to theshaver housing.

Specifically, the latches 20 each consist of a spring latching member 21which is disposed in a recess 17b defined in the inner wall of the cover17 and is secured to the cover 17 by means of a suitable rivet 22 whichextends through an aperture 17C in the cover. A U- shaped portion 21awhich is provided at the lower end of the spring latching member 21 isself-biased inwardly toward the shaver 11 so as to coact with acooperating recess 23 preferably molded into the housing for shaverv S11. Specifically, each end cap 12b and 12C is illustrated as beingprovided with a recess 23 cooperating with the latch portion 21a oflatching member 21.. Therefore, when the cover 11 is placed with the rimor edge 17a thereof in abutment with the shoulder 15 on the shaverhousing portion 12a, the U-shaped latch portions 21a of the springlatching members 21 are self-biased into latching engagement with therecesses 23 thereby to .secure the cover 17 to the shaver 11.

So as to facilitate the manual actuation of the latch mechanisms 20 towithdraw the U-shaped latch portions 21a of thelatching spring 21 fromengagement with the recesses 23 of the shaver 11, there is provided oneach side of the cover 17 a pivotally mounted latch actuating member 25having an inwardly directed protuberance 25a at the lower end thereof,the inner end of which protuberance is upturned and has disposed thereona tab 26 which is adapted to be received in a rectangularly shaped Islot2lb provided near the end of the corresponding spring latching member21.

The actuating member 25, which is conveniently a metal stamping, has apair of integral side walls 25b and 25e which taper outwardly from therespective upper corners of each member 25 to approximately thelongitudinal median thereof, at which point a pair of convex shoulders27 and 28 are delined. Thus, there are provided inegral fulcrums delinedby the shoulders 27 and 28 upon which the latch actuating members 25 arepivoted to actuate the spring latching members 21 to latch releasingposition. Y

In order to accommodate the sides 25h and 25C of the latch actuatingmember 25 Within the cover in a manner to permit pivotal movement aboutthe shoulders 27 and 28 thereby to withdraw the latch portion 21a out ofthe recess 23, a pair of spaced, parallel slots 29 and 30 are formed inthe wall of the cover 17 for each of the latches 20 in positionscorresponding to the desired locations of the walls 25b and 25C of themember 25. These slots 29 and 30 further serve to prevent lateralmmovement of each of the members 25 so that there is no interference withthe etlicient operation of the latches 20.

For the purpose of providing supports for the shoulders 27 and 28 and tolimit downward movement of each latch actuating member 25, the cover 17is provided with a pair of abutments 31 and 32 in the slots 29 and 30 ina position to engage the shoulders 27 and 28, respectively. To provide asmooth surface on the inner walls of the cover 17 without making thesewalls unnecessarily thick, the slots 29 and 30 on each side of the cover17 are preferably defined between a U-shaped rib 33 and an upstandingrectangular portion 34, best shown in Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawing.

For the purpose of further securing each of the latch actuating members25 in position, the upper end of each is provided with a laterallyextending tab 25a having a tongue 35 at the end thereof receivablewithin an opening 21e` defined in the corresponding spring latchingmember 21. Initially, the tongue 35 is disposedin the plane of the tab25d, as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawing, but upon assembly each of thetabs 35 is deformed to the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4 of thedrawing, thereby maintaining the parts in assembled relationship andeffectively dening a stop to limit the maximum counterclockwise movementof the latch actuating member 25, as viewed in Fig. 3 of the drawing.

In order to utilize the case of the present invention to protect theshaver 11, the shaver cord 19 is first placed in the chamber 18 in thecover 17, and the cover is then placed over the cutting head includingthe end caps 12b and 12e of the shaver 11. As the rim or edge 17a of thecover 17 is moved toward the shoulder 15, the latch portionsv21a rideoutwardly over the curved upper surfaces of the end caps 12b and 12a`until the rim 17a engages the shoulder 15. At that time the latchportions 21a are opposite the recesses 23 and snap into latchassessesa nage space for the shaver cord and the like.

When a person desires to remove the cover 17 from the shaver 11, hemerely presses on the upper portions of the latches 20 with his thumband middle inger, respectively, in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 4of the drawing, eiectively squeezing the upper latch portions togetherwhile pulling the cover 17 away from the shaver 11. In one continuousmotion the latches 20 are released and the shaver cutting head isexposed for use with the electric cord being right at hand for readyattachment to the shaver 11 and to a suitable power outlet.

There is thus provided a combined shaver and case 10 which isstructurally rigid so as to adequately protect the shaver 11, is compactin design and simple to use so as to encourage its use to protect theshaver 11, and is handsome in appearance and inexpensive to manufactureso as to be readily saleable.

While a particular embodiment of the invention has been shown, it willbe understood, of course, that the ,invention is not limited thereto,since many modifications may be made, and it is, therefore, contemplatedby the appended claims to cover any such` modifications as fall withinthe true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent ofthe United States is:

l. A combined shaver and case comprising an electric shaver having ahousing portion and an associated cutting mechanism, means defining ashoulder on said housing portion surrounding said cutting mechanism, anda cupshaped cover member for receiving therein said cutting mechanism,said cover member having a single opening therein, said opening being atone end of said cover member, and said cover member including a rimsurrounding said single opening engageable with said shoulder portion.

2. The combined shaver and case of claim l wherein said housing portionand cover member Iprovide a rigid housing with the outer wall of saidcover member smoothly conforming with the outer wall of said housingportion.

3. A `case for an electric shaver of the type having a shaving head,comprising, a cuplke housing .portion defining a unitary part of saidshaver, means defining a rim on said housing at least Ipartiallysurrounding said shaving head, a cuplike cover member having the rimportion thereof adapted to mate with the rim on said housing portion,the cavity in said cover member being larger than required to house theshaving head of said shaver whereby the electric cord for said shavermaybe stored in a portion of the cavity of said cover during periods whenthe shaver is not in use, and latch means for removably attaching said:cover to said housing.

4. A shaver case comprising a cover defining a recess therein, a shaverhaving a housing partially enclosing the drive mechanism whereby onlythe cutting mechanism is exposed, said cover mating with a portion ofsaid housing to enclose said cutting mechanism and a portion of saidhousing, said cover having a cavity therein substantially larger thanthat necessary to house said cutting mechanism whereby accessories forsaid shaver may be housed therein, a latch on said cover resilientlybiased into the recess of said cover, Imeans on that portion of saidhousing received rwithin said cover for -coacting with said latch tomaintain said cover in engagement with said housing, and means exteriorof said cover for manually moving said latch out of. said recess, saidhousing having an outwardly Vtapered portion for progressively movingsaid latch outwardly against said bias as said cover is :placed on saidshaver whereby said cover is secured in place .merely by inserting saidcutting mechanism of said shaver therein.

5. In an electric shaver case of the type having tirst and second walledportions removably engaging one another to form an enclosure, animproved latching mechanism, comprising, a leaf springlattached near oneend thereof to the inner side of the wall of said first portion,latching means supported on said leaf spring and biased into latchingengagement thereby, coacting means on said second portion forcooperating with said latching means to hold said first and secondportions together, and latch actuating means pivotally mountedintermediate the ends thereof on the outer side of the wall of saidfirst portion, said latch actuating means having a connection with thefree end of said leaf spring and having a movable portion to disengagesaid latc'hing means from said coacting means when .said latch actuatingmeans is pivoted whereby a force exerted on said latch actuating meanspermits the separation of said rst and second portions.

6. A latch comprising a ysupport wall, a leaf spring securednear one endto one side of said wall and having a reverse bend near the other end,said bend forming a U-shaped Iportion directed away from said wall, anaperture in said wall through which said other end of said 'springm'ovably extends, an actuating member .pivotally disposed on the other`side of said wall and connected to said other end of said spring,another aperture in said wall through which the other end of saidactuating member extend-s, and means on said one side of said Iwall formaintaining said other end of said actuating member on said one side ofsaid wall whereby pivotal movement of 8 said actuating member moves saidU-shaped portion toward said wall to latch releasing position.

7. The latch of claim 6 wherein said actuating member includes portionsdisposed within spaced parallel slots dened on the other side of saidwall for conning movement of said actuating member to pivotal movement.

8. The latch of claim 6 wherein said actuating member includes meansengageable with the other end of said leaf spring for limiting maximumpivotal movement thereof in one direction.

9. A lat-:hing mechanism comprising a support 'having a wall, a leafspring secured at one end to one side of said wall, a protuberance nearthe other end of said spring, and a latch actuating member pivotallymounted on the other side of said wall, said latch actuating memberhaving a protruding portion intermediate the ends thereof which is heldin engagement with the outer side of said wall by means of said leafspring which is attached to one end of said actuating member in thevicinity of `said protuberance.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,320,807 Upham June 1, 1943 2,379,969 Kobler et al. July 10, 19452,395,296 Schwab Feb. 19, 1946 2,561,241 Streng July 17, 1951

